Starting on 10

[josmi15]

First off, let me apologize to my fellow spies.  I've been neglecting going on the site as frequent as I used to.  I have commented lately on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook.   Now that I get that out of the way, I have a question that I would like to ponder to the group.

Here's the scenario, you booked your weekend tee time with your normal group.  You dream of starting off on 1 with a perfect drive right down the middle of the fairway.  You've imagined it in your head all week long.  The morning of your tee time, you arrive at the course 30 or 45 minutes early to chip, putt or maybe hit the range.  Upon your arrival you see the sign on the clubhouse door.  "Starting on 10 today"  

My questions are, do you feel deflated?  Instead of hitting a bomb down 1, you're now getting ready to tee off on a hole you haven't mentally prepared for all week.  Is it just me?  I have noticed that I tend to score badly on the first few holes on the back, when i start on the back.  Thanks for your time, i look forward to reading all the responses.  (Honestly, I hope people will read this).  

[RickyBobby_PR]

Doesn’t bother me at all. If I know the course I have a plan for each hole so it’s just doing my best to execute the game plan

I try not to let things I can’t control affect me and that’s for everything in life. Too much waster energy trying to worry about things out of one’s control or trying to control things that can’t be controlled.

[Pandaman]

Hmm.  If I found that put me off more than just a minor disorientation on arrival then I guess my 'mental game' would need a lot more work than it already does.

[Philip_R]

I play on a 9 hole course so it is really not a problem for me. 

Some courses here in South Africa has 27 holes so you cannot really commit yourself mentally to go off a certain tee for the 1st hole, as the starter decide which combination of 9 holes you will play for the day. 

[vandyland]

21 minutes ago, josmi15 said:

My questions are, do you feel deflated?  Instead of hitting a bomb down 1, you're now getting ready to tee off on a hole you haven't mentally prepared for all week.  Is it just me?  I have noticed that I tend to score badly on the first few holes on the back, when i start on the back.  Thanks for your time, i look forward to reading all the responses.  (Honestly, I hope people will read this). 

As someone who likes to prepare for rounds in a similar fashion, I think I would be deflated if it was a once in a lifetime course like Pebble or Harbour Town. If it is a course I play frequently, then it is no problem at all. If it is a resort course that I will only play once but isn't particularly memorable I think I would just adjust and play it. 

[Golfspy_TCB]

My course was originally designed with the nine's flopped... so what is now 9 was the finishing hole, and what is now 18 was the turn.  So when I go off the back to start my round... I consider it playing the course the way the designer intended it... before management decided to make a change .   My course is interesting... with most of the current front nine playing with a fade bias, and most of the current back nine playing with a draw bias... so just getting my mind right to attack the course with the swing I brought that day is really the only difference...  We also have a weekly men's club event that is a shotgun start... so even the two nines sometimes aren't played consecutively...  Once I'm in the round... I play each hole individually.

[RickyBobby_PR]

10 minutes ago, Tiftaaft said:

My course was originally designed with the nine's flopped... so what is now 9 was the finishing hole, and what is now 18 was the turn.  So when I go off the back to start my round... I consider it playing the course the way the designer intended it... before management decided to make a change .   My course is interesting... with most of the current front nine playing with a fade bias, and most of the current back nine playing with a draw bias... so just getting my mind right to attack the course with the swing I brought that day is really the only difference...  We also have a weekly men's club event that is a shotgun start... so even the two nines sometimes aren't played consecutively...  Once I'm in the round... I play each hole individually.

A course I used to play before it turned private flipped 9s. Didn’t really change the approach to course it just changed the stress level of starting off on a good note

[russtopherb]

Don't care at all. Am I playing golf? Yes. So I'm happy.

[TR1PTIK]

I think I'm with the majority in that it wouldn't affect me much as long as I'm prepared.

Unless it's a course I frequent and already have a solid strategy for I usually try to prepare for my rounds using Google Earth or something and write down some notes to take to the course (a recent practice that I've found some success with). Having to start on 10 instead of 1 in most cases won't be too impactful, but in others can up the stress level and might mean a more strategic play off the tee.

For example, #1 at Southern Oaks - where I spend most of my time - is a short Par 5 with an open tee shot and easy approach (most of the time). However, #10 is a much tighter Par 4 with trees on both sides and OB on both sides beyond those trees. The fairway slopes left-to-right most of the way and the green slopes heavily right-to-left. If it weren't for my familiarity with the course, I think I would feel a significant amount more pressure hitting my first shot of the day off #10 than #1.

#1 Tee Shot at Southern Oaks:

 

#10 Tee Shot at Southern Oaks:

[DiscipleofPenick]

I wouldn't let this bother me, even with my 'home' course having two distinct 9s. Heck sometimes the pro even sends me out to start on 5 if there's a slow group that just went out. I do like others and review a course on Google Earth before I play so I know what I'm hitting off each tee. I can commit to a safe shot if I need to, and I can also go to a driver if I know it's safe. 

I only make a note on what the safe club is, which is what I need to get inside wedge distance (120 yards) And if it is ok to hit driver, with a Y/N/M. If the hole is a yes I'm hitting driver cause that means it's pretty wide open or a very long hole. If it's a maybe I'd likely hit the safe club so I can start off smooth.

[stuka44]

This would not bother me at all.  Given that I normally show up, with enough time to pay, and get to the tee box 8-10 minutes early, and my entire warm up consists of a few half hearted stretches, and swings to attempt to stave off "pulling" something, the idea of planning my first shot on a starting hole ahead of time honestly never occurred to me.

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 hours ago, josmi15 said:

First off, let me apologize to my fellow spies.  I've been neglecting going on the site as frequent as I used to.  I have commented lately on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook.   Now that I get that out of the way, I have a question that I would like to ponder to the group.

Here's the scenario, you booked your weekend tee time with your normal group.  You dream of starting off on 1 with a perfect drive right down the middle of the fairway.  You've imagined it in your head all week long.  The morning of your tee time, you arrive at the course 30 or 45 minutes early to chip, putt or maybe hit the range.  Upon your arrival you see the sign on the clubhouse door.  "Starting on 10 today"  

My questions are, do you feel deflated?  Instead of hitting a bomb down 1, you're now getting ready to tee off on a hole you haven't mentally prepared for all week.  Is it just me?  I have noticed that I tend to score badly on the first few holes on the back, when i start on the back.  Thanks for your time, i look forward to reading all the responses.  (Honestly, I hope people will read this).  

Makes no difference to me and actually my old home course I preferred to start on 10 as I loved the first 3 holes when it was a back 9 start. The first 3 holes on the front weren't hard, but with 2 par 5s on the front and only 1 on the back it certainly felt like I could make up ground on the front 9 vs the back 9. 

I get what you say about dreaming of the first tee shot and imagining it and such and I have often done the same thing... only to pull hook it into the woods haha 

So in short not a bother at all and given I play casual vs competitive I'm not really fussed one way or another. 

[bens197]

1 hour ago, russtopherb said:

Don't care at all. Am I playing golf? Yes. So I'm happy.

Same brain.  

And let's be honest...now that I am 9 holes into my round, I can tee off on 1 and really launch a nice bomb while properly warmed up.

[xOldBenKenobiX]

It really does not matter to me, I am just happy to be out there slicing and hooking that ball.

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Same as others. Wont bother me. I started this year doing more analysis on Google earth. I now have crib sheets for 3 courses with my clubs yardages and then tee shots for each hole with aim location. Just one less thing to now think about on the course and I can enjoy my round better.

[edingc]

1 hour ago, TR1PTIK said:

I think I'm with the majority in that it wouldn't affect me much as long as I'm prepared.

Unless it's a course I frequent and already have a solid strategy for I usually try to prepare for my rounds using Google Earth or something and write down some notes to take to the course (a recent practice that I've found some success with). Having to start on 10 instead of 1 in most cases won't be too impactful, but in others can up the stress level and might mean a more strategic play off the tee.

For example, #1 at Southern Oaks - where I spend most of my time - is a short Par 5 with an open tee shot and easy approach (most of the time). However, #10 is a much tighter Par 4 with trees on both sides and OB on both sides beyond those trees. The fairway slopes left-to-right most of the way and the green slopes heavily right-to-left. If it weren't for my familiarity with the course, I think I would feel a significant amount more pressure hitting my first shot of the day off #10 than #1.

#1 Tee Shot at Southern Oaks:

 

#10 Tee Shot at Southern Oaks:

Similar situation for me, No. 1 is much more forgiving than No. 10. When I play nine I usually play the back so it's not the end of the world to tee off there, but on my first few swings of the morning I'd much rather take No. 1's tee shot than 10's.

[Jnoble89]

I personally prefer the back 9 at my local course, so am always excited to start on 10 haha! Longer, more driver friendly compared to the front 9 as well, and the hole 1 tee shot is a 3 wood that needs to be placed well so that you don't fly the fairway and punch out from the trees. I would say it would be course to course for me, but mentally it doesn't impact me.

[GaryF]

It really doesn’t matter to me.  To me, golf is about adjusting to the unexpected, taking your best shot then moving on.  I try not to let things get to me.  If I have a bad shot, I might get mad/frustrated...drop my club, etc, but it’s over in 15-20 seconds.

One group I play with occasionally, I sometimes get paired with a guy who lets everything bother him (not saying this about the OP).  Great guy away from the course, but usually mad/upset throughout play, and it’s no fun being around.  Details for another time/thread. 

[Berg Ryman]

3 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

My course was originally designed with the nine's flopped... so what is now 9 was the finishing hole, and what is now 18 was the turn.  So when I go off the back to start my round... I consider it playing the course the way the designer intended it... before management decided to make a change .   My course is interesting... with most of the current front nine playing with a fade bias, and most of the current back nine playing with a draw bias... so just getting my mind right to attack the course with the swing I brought that day is really the only difference...  We also have a weekly men's club event that is a shotgun start... so even the two nines sometimes aren't played consecutively...  Once I'm in the round... I play each hole individually.

So, same here. and our nines have flipped since I started playing them. My hatred is that it's par 35 on one side, par 37 on the other, so my scoring average would have been lower in high school has the nines been the way they currently are because the now front par 35, back when I was in school, as the side to score on. 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

It wouldn't make a difference for me.  If I know a week ahead of time I'm going to be playing I've played the whole course many many times in my head already... 1, 10, or a shotgun start wouldn't throw me off.  

What throws me off is if I get to the course and see "Range Closed" when I was planning on getting loose.